24.8.13

The Sheriff of London Charity Shield

Introduced at the end of the 1897-98 season, this was a challenge match between the leading amateur club in the country and one of the leading professional clubs, for the benefit of charitable institutions, hospitals etc.The competition was established by Thomas Dewar, the whisky magnate, and is sometimes referred to as The Dewar Shield. And the trophy was as big as a man!The Dewar Shield lapsed in 1908 following a rift between the leading amateur clubs and the FA.

Let's look at the ten editions of the Shield.Corinthians were chosen as the amateur representatives 9 times. This was good business, as Corinth usually featured a number of international players.The professional representatives were not necessarily the league champions or FA Cup holders.Professional teams triumphed on 6 occasionsAmatuer teams (ie Corinthian FC) won twice.The Shield was shared twice.

18981

Corinthians

0

0

Sheffield United

Crystal Palace

Corinthians

1

1

Sheffield United

Crystal Palace

18992

Aston Villa

0

0

Queen's Park

Crystal Palace

1900

Corinthians

2

1

Aston Villa

Crystal Palace

1901

Aston Villa

1

0

Corinthians

Crystal Palace

1902

Tottenham Hotspur

5

2

Corinthians

White Hart Lane

1903

Sunderland

3

0

Corinthians

White Hart Lane

1904

Corinthians

10

3

Bury

Queens Club

1905

The Wednesday

2

1

Corinthians

Crystal Palace

1906

Liverpool

5

1

Corinthians

Craven Cottage

1907

Newcastle United

5

2

Corinthians

Craven Cottage

1 Sheffield United declined to play extra-time as they disagreed with some of the referee's decisions- the trophy was shared.2 Shared, each club retained the Shield for six months.